This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Anatol Svahilec (talk | contribs) at 17:17, 3 January 2025 (Creating the page - I would eventually appreciate some help with the sources if someone i going to be into it... Thanks!). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 17:17, 3 January 2025 by Anatol Svahilec (talk | contribs) (Creating the page - I would eventually appreciate some help with the sources if someone i going to be into it... Thanks!)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Attack by the Imperial German Navy seaplanes on 15 June 1917| Raid on Ruhnu (1917) | |||||||
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| Part of Naval warfare of World War I | |||||||
 German seaplanes land on the Russian island of Ruhnu to destroy the radio station (illustration by Willy Stöwer from 1917) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Germany |
 Russia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 ? |
? | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| several seaplanes | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| none | Unknown | ||||||
| Baltic Sea 1914–1918 | |
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The Raid on Ruhnu on 15 June 1917 was a minor operation proceeded by Imperial German Naval Air Forces in Ruhnu Island in the Gulf of Riga during World War I. Several German seaplanes landed on the coast of Ruhnu to attack the Russian telegraph station and after that retreated to their home base, which is considered as the first air-landing ambush operation in the military history.
Background
Ruhnu Island in an isolated island the southern part of the Gulf of Riga with a mayor strategic importance across the centuries. Being seized by the Russian Empire 1708. In 1877 a new lighthouse was built there and in the beginning of the 20th century also a radio station. Since the German armies reached the borders of Latvia on spring 1915, on 1 May 1915 the Imperial German Navy proceeded a naval raid on Ruhnu facililites, seriously damaging the beacon and the surroundung area. Cruiser SMS Augsburg took part on the attack.
To reduce the increased activity of the Russian naval forces in underwater and mine warfare in June 1917, German Admirality decided another attack on Ruhnu Island, this time targeting Russian telegraph station there. On June 13, German aircraft bombarded the Russian base at Lebara port with some high explosive bombs, the next day the Ruhnu telegraph station was bombed setting several buildings on fire. Following this operation, on June 15, a certain number of the German seaplanes landed on the island and destroyed the remaining parts of the Russian facility with explosives. The attackers met with no resistance and after completing their tasks all the aircraft have returned on their base.
Aftermath
Ruhnu sabotage raid helped the Germans to gain another tactical advantage in the region. A mission carried by the aviators reaching the target area and then working as a infantry unit was probalby the first of its kind. On 1 September 1917 a 1917 Riga Offensive was launched and five days after German armied captured the port city.
On 13 October 1917 Runhu Island was attacked for the third time in the war. German troops invaded and occupied the island of Ruhnu as a supportive action of the Operation Albion, German landind in Estonian Sarreema Island. Some Estonian sources claim, that the operation was proceeded by eight German seaplanes and it was probably the first air-landed ambush mission in the history of warfare.
See also
Citations
- "Ruhnu landing operation 1915". Eesti Entsyklopeedia. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914-1918. Siebter Band (in German). Stuttgart: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft. 1917. p. 129. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "Oestlicher Kriegsschauplatz". Feldblatt (in German). 961: 1. 18 June 1917. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- Illustrierte Geschichte des Weltkrieges 1914-1918. Siebter Band (in German). Stuttgart: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft. 1917. p. 129. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- Reek, Nikolai (1937). Saaremaa kaitsmine ja vallutamine a. 1917 = La défence et la conquête de l'île Saaremaa en 1917. Tallin: Sõjavägede Staabi VI osakondIlmumisaeg. ISBN 9789916235287. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- "Ruhnu landing operation 1917". Eesti Entsyklopeedia. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
Bibliography
- Õun, Mati (2011). Võitlused Läänemerel 1914–1918 : Esimene maailmasõda koduvetes (Saku: Rebellis ed.). Tallin: Olion. ISBN 9789985666616. Retrieved 3 January 2025.